Our Correspondent, Benapole :
Kalaroa upazila is next to Sharsha upazila of Jashore district. Kalaroa’s famous handmade tiles are being exported to abroad.
Kalaroa potential tile industry is on the verge of extinction due to corona. Lots of foreign exchange earned by exporting these tiles abroad. Despite playing a leading role in the economy, today the tile industry is on the verge of destruction. Thousands of workers associated with the industry have lost their jobs.
Entrepreneurs say there is a lack of Bangladeshi tile marketing system in the international market. The main reason for the crisis is the lack of export policies and modernization in the tile industry. In addition, even if the cost of production increases, the price does not increase, The lack of goodwill of the government and non-availability of loans on easy terms are considered by the concerned people as one of the reasons for the destruction of this industry.
However, only a handful of factory owners are still trying their best to keep the industry afloat.
In the year 2000, some Kumar families of Murarikati village in Kalaroa Upazila Sadar started producing these exported clay tiles. Then, in 2004, Italian importer Rafaili Aldo first imported decorative tiles for housing from Murarikati in Kalaroa.
Notable among these tiles are Rickt Angular, Head Dragular, Scotting, Stamp, Square, Roop, Bricks and Floor Tiles. As tiles began to be exported abroad, most of the Kumar community families in Murarikati village became financially self-sufficient. Later it is no longer confined to the hands of the Kumars.
About 90 percent of the households in Murarikati village are involved in the production of exported clay tiles. Employment is created for many women and men in the vicinity. At one stage, from 2004 to 2016, the exporters of Murarikati village in Kalaroa were booming in the tile industry.
But in the last five years, at least 40 of the nearly 50 manufacturing plants have closed. At present there are 10 surviving factories are here.
These factories are Kalaroa Clay International, Badal Das Clay International, Bhai Bhai Tally Karkhana, Srikanth Tally, Abdus Chatter Tally, Neshar Ali Tally, Telesh Pal Tally, Abdur Rob Tally and Emadul Tally. The first exporter in this regard was Gostapado Pal of Murarikati village in Kalaroa.
The tiles industry here has been lost in just five years.Due to lack of demand abroad, it has become difficult to raise the production cost of each tile.
It costs eightg to 13 taka to produce a floor tile. Exporters are paying 9 to 14 taka there. Each rickt angular tile is selling for seven taka. But its production cost is seven to eight and a half taka.
